Insights from the WMRR Waste to Energy Webinar
Sphere’s Selena Ferguson recently attended the WMRR Waste to Energy (WtE) Webinar, hosted by the Waste Management Resource Recovery Association (WMRR).
The session featured expert speakers from Ramboll’s EfW & Carbon Capture teams in Denmark and Australia, Lasse Sander Tobiasen and Marc Revault, as well as Rachael Templeton-Jansen from the City of Gold Coast, and Scott Reynolds from ACCIONA.
Lasse Sander Tobiasen and Marc Revault debunked several WtE myths with evidence from the WtE sector in Europe. Key takeaways included:
Contrary to common misconceptions, there is a complementary relationship between WtE and recycling. European countries with the highest WtE adoption also lead in recycling rates.
New WtE facilities are being developed to replace ageing WtE infrastructure, often on the same sites, with medium-sized local councils frequently acting as project proponents.
EfW contributes to emissions reduction by avoiding methane emissions from landfills, displacing fossil fuel generation, and recovering materials such as metals and aggregates.
Rachael Templeton-Jansen spoke about the City of Gold Coast’s Advanced Resource Recovery Centre (ARRC) project and the goal to divert 97% of waste from landfill. Community engagement is underway, with nine knowledge gaps identified and a reference group formed in 2025. Encouragingly, 88% of surveyed residents strongly agree that ARRC will benefit the wider community. Rachael noted that we know we cannot recycle our way out of the challenge before us, and that there will always be residual waste, so ARRC is leveraging multiple strategies, with WtE as a vital component.
Scott Reynolds from ACCIONA shared technical insights into the Kwinana Energy Recovery Facility, which exports up to 38MW of baseload power. The facility has undergone rigorous commissioning, including continuous emissions monitoring and extensive performance testing.
The Q&A session explored delivery models, regulatory hurdles, and facility resilience. Notably, Scott highlighted the importance of strong state government support, while Lasse discussed the criticality of scale and co-location with landfills for operational flexibility.
Sphere advises clients across the full lifecycle of environmental infrastructure projects. The insights from this webinar demonstrate the importance of structuring viable delivery models, ongoing stakeholder engagement, and managing risk in WtE developments.
